Try Me On for Size (3 page)

Her mouth had gone completely dry. She grabbed her water bottle and drank. Deep breath. This was it.

She climbed onto the bed and after a minute of awkward maneuvers, finally got her legs on both sides of him, ready to get started.

“Um, Mia?”

“Huh?”

“Wouldn’t this work better if you took your underwear off?”

She looked down. Yep. Underwear still in place. She hopped off the bed, and overcome with modesty wanted to turn the light off, not let him see such a private part of her anatomy. Maybe she should have filled her water bottle with vodka. That would’ve made the whole process far easier. But she’d be far less likely to get the information she needed.

Mia’s hands shook as she shoved her blue and white floral panties to the floor and stepped out.
I
’m a sex robot and I’m doing this to help my friend. He’s not a sexy man, just a penis. A business venture. Just do it and get it over with.
She got back into position, straddling his muscular thighs.

“Okay, so, I’ll need you to just kinda lay there and let me do what I need to, um . . . do. Okay?”

“Sure, but shouldn’t I get a condom?”

“Wasn’t this already explained to you? I need to see how you feel without any barriers. We did the screenings and we’re both healthy and disease-free, so it’s all good. I thought Bryn made sure all the models knew this.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. But what about pregnancy?”

“I’ve got one of those implanted thingies.” She tapped her right arm. Did this guy not read any of the paperwork given to him? “You should have known this. Ready, then?”

“Guess so.”

Mia rose on her knees and positioned herself, deciding not to look at Ryan’s face. She tried lowering herself onto him but couldn’t quite make the connection.

“Want some help?” he asked and laughed, low and sexy.

“No.” She couldn’t help but giggle, too. “I got it.”

She took him with her hand, the pulse of his heartbeat racing beneath her palm, and guided it to her. It slid right in.

“Oh. Wow.” The words escaped her lips before she could stop them.

“Are you okay?”

Still avoiding his eyes, she answered. “Um. Yeah. It’s just . . . been awhile.”

Knowing that, she had prepared for the night by purchasing a tube of lubricant. She had no idea how it would go. This was a business proposition. There wasn’t supposed to be any excitement on her part. But for this to work, there needed to be some kind of moisture down there.

And fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there was no need for the synthetic stuff.

Mia began to move, griping her headboard for support.
Damn, this is nice.
Was this how good sex felt? She had a hard time remembering. She clearly remembered how bad it had been the last time she’d been with someone. Backseat flings were never any good, especially in a Jeep Wrangler. And before that? The string of month-long relationships were a blur. There’d always been something wrong with the guy, some character flaw or bad habit, that got under her skin and irked her until she couldn’t take it anymore and kicked the guy to the curb. Though there were a couple where the sex stood out in a good way.

But this. This was nice. Mia found a rhythmic pattern and closed her eyes, letting her head roll back. The sizzle of Ryan’s hands on her hips jolted her back to reality.

“Um, no. You gotta move your hands.” She kept her gaze on the painting above her bed.

Back to work. This wasn’t a booty call. She needed to evaluate him. Mia moved a little more. Length: A-plus. Thickness: A-plus-plus. Ability to reach her G spot? She needed to adjust her position to test that. Ding-ding! That worked. After hitting it a couple of times she forced herself to stop, fighting to control her fast-beating heart.

“Are you done?” he asked.

“I’d like to try it missionary, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah. Whatever you need.”

He sat up, her legs encircling his body. Instead of her moving off of him and switching places, he wrapped his arm around her body and in one swift move had her on her back, his body between her spayed thighs, not even a moment of disconnection. His face was merely inches from hers, warm breath on her cheek. His eyes stared into hers, locked together.

“Well, that was easy,” she said, breaking the trance.

He laughed, and as much as her brain screamed at her to tell him to move back, her body enjoyed the weight of him on her, the scent of him surrounding her.

“You can, um, start now. Just go slow so I can get a good feel for you in this position.”

He moved in and out a few times, his eyes still on hers. “How’s this?”

“Good.”

He put his hand to her thigh, his palm scorching her skin, and brought it toward her chest. He hit her spot again and she sucked in a breath.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. That was good. I think I have all I need, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve done enough. I’ve gotten a good feel for you. We don’t have to keep going.”

“But do you want to?” he asked and kept moving, kept hitting her spot, mini jolts of pleasure radiating through her body.

“We should probably stop,” she managed to say, holding her euphoric moans inside.

“Probably. But you didn’t say you wanted to.”

Mia just stared at him. He was right. Her body had completely overtaken her brain and would not allow her to say what she should say.

“Maybe a little longer.”

That small confirmation gave Ryan the green light to yank Mia’s sweat-soaked tank over her head. Before she could protest, even if she’d wanted to, he’d opened her front-clasp bra and smothered her breast with the heat of his mouth.

There was no turning back now.

Mia wrapped her arms and legs around him tight, meeting his powerful thrusts. She ran her fingers down his back to grab hold of the pure muscle she’d admired when his backside had been turned to her at the bar. Rock hard, just as expected.

And when he moved his beautiful lips to hers, she didn’t protest. He moaned against her mouth. He had to be close. Pulling her leg up where it had been moments earlier, where Ryan had put it for her, he put his hand to it and pushed it even further, driving her toward the edge. With one more thrust, he’d thrown her over, free-falling right after.

Ryan lay atop her, breath labored, head buried in the pillow next to hers. Mia’s arms were still around his neck, her fingers rubbing the tiny freshly trimmed hairs at the nape of his neck. He was completely sweaty, but she didn’t mind.

“Damn, that was good.”

“Yeah, it was.” She couldn’t help but agree, and that made it hard to shake away the euphoria. Back to business. “But I still have four more models to interview.”

He pulled up on his elbows and met her gaze, eyes having lost all sparkle. “Oh.”

“You’re the first I’ve interviewed and, um . . . tested. I’ll write my report and once I’ve finished with the other models, I’ll talk with Bryn and we’ll select the person we want to represent the boutique.”

Ryan crawled away from her body, the coolness of the apartment now surrounding Mia and her sweaty body, sending a chill through her.

“I guess I should go then.”

“Yep. I’ll call you by the end of the month if we choose you.”

“You have my number?”

“It’s on your résumé.”

“Oh, well, I just got a new cell number, so let me give you that.” He spied a notepad on the nightstand, and taking a pen from the inside pocket of his suit jacket, scribbled down the number.

Mia just sat there, staring at this godlike creature, still naked, like it was nothing. Models had to be pretty comfortable with their bodies, right? She’d already yanked the comforter to her chin to hide hers.

He set the notepad and pen on the nightstand. “Um, thanks for the opportunity to impress you,” he said with a goofy grin.

“Yeah,” she giggled. “I think that’s an appropriate closing statement for this interview.”

Ryan grabbed his clothes and dressed. Such a shame to cover that bod. She could already envision him in the shop with that chest on display, signing autographs and flashing his stellar smile. Was it bad that she had already hired him in her head?

“Thanks again,” he said and stepped toward the bed.

How do you say good-bye after an interview like that? Like any other, Mia supposed. She held out her hand. “Have a good night.”

He shook her hand. “You, too.”

And with that he turned and left her bedroom, showing himself out.

CHAPTER
Three

T
he door
had barely clicked shut and already Mia had dialed Bryn’s number.

“Tell me everything,” Bryn’s voice boomed before Mia could tie her bathrobe closed.

“It was good.”

“Good? That’s it?”

Mia could never hold anything back when talking to Bryn, no matter how hard she’d tried, and let her orgasm-induced giddiness flow freely. “It was ridiculously amazing.”

“Details! I wanna know everything.”

“Let’s just say it works very well.”

“Did you get off?”

“Bryn!”

“I need to know. Our customers will want to get off. That’s the whole point.”

“It wasn’t the focus of the interview.”

“It sure as hell should have been. Are you seriously telling me you had sex with this gorgeous man and didn’t have an orgasm?”

“I thought the point was to test it out and see how it felt. Make sure it was the right size and girth and whatever. I thought I was supposed to retain some sort of professionalism.”

“Seriously? We’re going into the dildo business. You’re boinking models to find the right one. How professional can you be?”

“Well, I tried to be professional about the whole thing.”

“So you didn’t orgasm?”

Mia’s cheeks warmed with the memory of Ryan’s voice in her ear as they climaxed together. “Well, I didn’t say that.”

“Oh. I see what happened. You weren’t planning on it, but he was so gorgeous you couldn’t help yourself.”

How does she know me so well?
That’s what happens when you’re best friends with someone since grade school.

“I’ll take your silence as confirmation. I’m so happy for you. I think you really needed a good lay.”

“It wasn’t a ‘lay,’ it was business. And he was good. Exactly what we’re looking for. Aside from his performance, he is sweet, sophisticated, and charming. He has a great smile and would be a perfect spokesperson.”

“Uh-huh. And there was no attraction whatsoever?”

“Even if there was, it doesn’t matter. He’d be our employee. And last time I checked, we need to stay focused on this endeavor and not fawn over hot possible employees.”

The last thing she needed was to start a fling with some guy, gorgeous or otherwise. Bryn’s constant insistence that there was a “soul mate” out there for her just seemed like bull. Mia had been around the block a few times and there was no one and only for her. If she’d learned anything, it was that a cute smile and a nice ass meant nothing. Bryn must have found the only decent man on earth. Mia was sick of wasting her time and being disappointed. She had her friends and a job she loved. That was enough.

“So you
do
think he’s hot?”

“You are hopeless. I think you’re the one who needs a good lay.”

“I do!” Bryn laughed. “God, I do. And once we get these new dildos produced, I will definitely try my damnedest to have one. Anyway, so you really think he’d be a good spokesperson?”

“Yes. I can tell he’s from a good upbringing. He was very polite and seemed like he’d be a natural with women in meet and greets.”

“Good. That gives me some reassurance.”

Was she nervous? Bryn had been the one with the confidence in this crazy plan all along. “Yeah. It made me feel a little better, too. All I have to do is get through the next four interviews and we can make our decision. Then hopefully we can be on our way to saving the shop.”

“That’s the plan. And it better work. If something doesn’t happen soon, we’ll have to cut Penny’s and Grant’s hours. I don’t think I can cut my own pay any more than I have. We’re already eating ramen and hot dogs twice a week.”

Bryn laughed, but the pain in Mia’s chest came back anyway. The same one she felt whenever Bryn talked about how tough it’s been. Since Johnny’s death, Mia had tried to help Bryn out as much as possible, but she was a stubborn one. Mia had offered to cut her own pay drastically so Bryn wouldn’t have to go without a dime, but she’d refused. They took home equal paychecks. Mia needed money to live, too, but she didn’t have kids to take care of. And if she needed it, she had a trust fund to fall back on, though it would kill her to use her father’s money and admit she’d failed.

“Then I guess it’s time for Auntie Mia to treat the kids to Bouncy Housy.” She knew Bryn couldn’t pass on taking the kids to the indoor arena filled with every inflatable contraption ever made. “You can come, too, if you promise to bounce with me.”

“You know my weaknesses too well. I’ll check the work schedule and we’ll pick a day that’s good for both of us.”

“Fantastic. I better go and take a shower. I’m kinda sweaty.”

“Nice,” Bryn said, her voice smooth, and Mia envisioned her raised eyebrow and sly smile. “Talk to ya later.”

OLIVER WALKED
back into the bar where his car was parked and glanced at his Tag Heuer watch. Barely even ten thirty. In the last two hours, not only had he walked up to a complete stranger and chatted with her, he’d gone to her place, had sex with her, and was back in the bar ordering another glass of cheap scotch.
What the fuck was I thinking?

He’d been thinking she was gorgeous. He’d been thinking she was nice and down to earth. He’d been thinking a night to forget his problems sounded like a fine idea. And forget he did. Not once while he was having mind-blowing sex—something he certainly hadn’t had in a long time—had he thought of his stressful job or controlling father. Or the rest of his problems, either. For a mere hour he was just Oliver, having fun with a beautiful woman.

She hadn’t planned on having any fun—it had been all business at first. But he’d managed to give her some pleasure at the end. Why had she been so hesitant to let go and enjoy what they were doing? She’d definitely been testing him for something. Some kind of job interview? None of it made sense. What did amazing sex have to do with a modeling job?

Whatever it was, if it meant seeing Mia again, he sure as hell wanted that job.

The bartender set the drink in front of him and he tossed back half of it.

Four more guys to interview. That’s what she’d said. She had to have sex with four more guys before choosing a model. Oliver’s stomach turned. He barely knew Mia, but he was jealous. He hated the thought of her being with four more men. He had to convince her he was the one for her—for the job. Yeah, the job.

MIA’S DAY
off, and instead of spending it lounging and watching bad daytime TV like she wanted, her sister, Riley, had convinced her to walk the mall.

“Oh, I need to go in here,” Riley said and steered the stroller toward another baby boutique.

Eight months into pregnancy number two, a boy this time, she needed a completely new baby wardrobe, and no level of swollen ankles was going to stop her. Mia was just along for the ride.

“Where should we eat lunch?” Riley asked as she walked the shop, her eighteen-month-old daughter in the stroller nibbling on freeze-dried yogurt drops.

“I don’t care.”

Riley continued browsing the insanely priced merchandise and squealed, holding up a tiny plaid newsboy cap. “This is cute, right? Should I get it?”

“Does a baby really need a hat like that?”

“Of course he does. He’s gonna be the best-dressed little boy ever.”

Mia took the hat and turned over the price tag. “Forty dollars? That’s ridiculous for something he’ll maybe wear once for two minutes while you snap a photo.”

Riley rolled her eyes and snatched it back. “I like it and I’m getting it. And the matching shorts.”

Geez. This kid’s outfits were costing three times what Mia’s did. And she wore hers for years, not weeks. She shook off her sister’s extravagance. “So how are you feeling?”

“Good, for the most part. Gianna is in a phase right now and loves to run around the house naked. So all I do is chase her and dress her. And not even two minutes later, she’s naked again. It’s tiring. And I have no help, with Nico always working. I’m practically a single mother. And my housekeeper won’t help. She says she only cleans. Maybe I should hire a nanny.”

More eye rolling—Mia’s this time—but she had to turn away and fake infatuation with a flower-adorned baby headband.

Riley sighed, just as she had so many times when she was trying to manipulate someone. “I wish there was a way to have Nico home with me more. Can you think of any way to make that happen?”

“For the hundredth time, I’m not working for Dad.”

“Even if it means my husband will be home more? So your niece can see her daddy more?”

“No. You know how crazy he gets. I can’t work for him.” Mia continued browsing the shop, not making eye contact with Riley.

They’d been over this numerous times and she wasn’t about to do it again. Yeah, Mia working at the car dealership would lighten the load for Nico and make his life better, but she wasn’t about to make her own miserable. Her father may have been a reasonable man at one time, but since becoming The Great Antonio Montonari, everything had to be his way. On several occasions over the last two decades when she’d visited him at work, she’d witnessed him yelling about this, firing someone over that. She once saw him scream at a guy for forgetting to restock the snack supply in the customer lounge.

No way. She dealt with her father’s control issues at family functions and she refused to subject herself to that misery on a daily basis. He’d just have to find someone else to work for him.

“If it was to help Bryn, you would,” Riley mumbled under her breath as she flipped through a rack of footed pajamas.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Can you at least have dinner with your only sister, maybe a movie, so I don’t have to spend yet another night alone and bored? Mom said she’d watch Gianna.”

“I can’t. I have plans.”

“Plans? With a guy?”

Actually, yes, but she wasn’t telling Riley that. She’d get all mushy and start planning a wedding. Apparently reaching thirty had made Mia an old maid, and if she didn’t find a man soon, her womb would dry up and cease to exist.

It wasn’t as if Mia hated the idea of marriage and kids and the whole shebang, but she wanted it on her own terms. No stuffy setups. No nagging. And definitely no four-thousand-square-foot house and hired help. That was not the life she was looking for. Someday she’d find what she wanted. And there’d be no settling until she did, regardless of the biological clock that ticked in her sister’s head.

“He must be hot. You totally just spaced thinking about him.”

Mia shook out of her thoughts. “Um, no. I’m meeting someone, but it’s not like that.”

“Are you sure? It could be.”

“No. It definitely won’t be.” Even if she was in the market for a boyfriend or whatever, Ryan and the rest of the guys were off limits. “It’s a work thing.”

“People fall in love at work all the time. That’s how I met Nico.”

Yeah. Took a long while for that gossip to die down at the dealership. Their father had walked in on Riley giving Nico a blow job in the back corner of the detail shop, where Nico worked as a detailer. The famous Antonio Montanari demanded Nico either marry his daughter or find a new job. He did both. Marrying into the Montanari family had given him a wife and a promotion. His father-in-law had made him his right-hand man.

Mia’s stomach churned. Riley had used sex to snag a husband, and she was using sex to save her floundering business. Ugh. Was she really no better than her horny sister?

Yes. Mia was helping her friend, and saving what they’ve worked their whole adult lives for. She wasn’t on her knees luring a man in with her sucking technique. She was doing legitimate product testing.
Yep. Keep telling yourself that.

Besides, Riley had gotten what she wanted. Maybe Mia would, too. And if that meant getting to look at Ryan on a regular basis, so be it. No one ever said you couldn’t mix business with nice scenery. And maybe it wouldn’t even be Ryan as the scenery. It could be tonight’s guy, or one of the others.

Lying to herself was starting to become a trend.
I’
m in so much trouble.
Mia vowed to get Ryan out of her head before the next interview. It wouldn’t be fair to compare them to him. She’d gotten carried away and lost in the dreaminess of him. So unprofessional. But damn, he was hard to shake off.

“Hello? Mia? Where’d you go again? This guy must be completely drool-worthy for you to get lost twice thinking about him. Spill.”

“It’s really no one.” Only the hottest, most down-to-earth guy she’d met in forever. That combo didn’t come along often. “Just a guy we might hire for the shop.”

“Is he hot?”

It didn’t take much for the image of Ryan’s face to appear in front of her eyes. “Yes, if you must know. He is good looking.”

“See. I knew it! You like him.”

“It’s not like that. It’s for work. We’re interviewing models for a new product line. No big deal.” She picked up a blue polo shirt with a sailboat on it. Riley was easily distracted. “I think Nico Junior needs this, don’t you? It will look so cute with his new hat and shorts.”

“Oooh, you’re right. Lemme have it.” She added it to her growing pile of tiny clothing. “So, is the shop gonna carry a line of men’s things? I’d definitely be interested in getting something sexy for my man to wear, if he’s ever home to give me some.”

“Uh. No.” Mia picked up another cute outfit, trying the distraction thing again. Not working.

“So what do you need models for, then?”

Riley hadn’t even glanced at the denim overalls Mia held. She knew that look in her sister’s eye. She was nosy as could be and no way was Mia getting out of it until she spilled.

“Fine. We’re starting a line of . . .” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Toys.”

“Really? Well, I might just stop in and pick something up. You know I’m always game for something new and exciting in the bedroom.”

“I don’t think you’ll want any part of this.”

“Why?”

Just spit it out. “We’re hiring a model to be a spokesperson. And we’re using his, um . . . manhood, as a mold for our new dildo line.”

Riley’s eyebrows scrunched and her jaw dropped. She pushed the stroller with one hand and yanked Mia with the other to a quiet corner of the store, behind a tall rack of bibs. For a pregnant woman, she was strong, and moved fast.